my collection of angel-inspired musings, poetry and prose, and life lessons learned.

Archive for March, 2007

As different as day and night. The hot and the cold. Yin and Yang. That’s Bugsey and me. She is the excitable, fiery one while I am the (normally) cool and unflappable one.

Bugsey came into my life through Multiply, and my bloglife has never been the same. In my early Pre-Bugsey bloglife, I wasn’t too much into posting blogs save for a few canine welfare issues that was/is my main topic of interest. Then Bugsey came along. She is the type of person who would really spend time to read your blog and throw in her two cents’ worth–usually more. She somehow forced me to pump more energy into my bloglife.

She blogs with a passion and speed that would put the Shinkansen to shame, and she loves every second of it. Blogging may not be her life, but she certainly lives every second of it with such verve that you can actually feel her infectious energy as you enter her site. Once in there, the actions zip by. You better be quick at reading the most recent post, as she would post some more at the blink of an eye. The rest of us slow-footed ones can just stare at awe.

The quick-witted Bugsey loves hot stories. See the latest news on TV and the papers, and you will find it in Bugsey’s blog within minutes. The hotter, the better. My impression is that she loves the news part of it as much as she loves the controversy.

I have to admit that her blogs and links sometimes make me squirm uncomfortably. No, she would never blog or link anything bad. In fact, I think she writes exceedingly well. It’s just that the slow-footed, sensitive Sally in me can’t seem to grasp the harsh realities of the fast world out there as reflected in Bugsey’s blogs and links on most days.

And here’s something more–after posting all those fast, hot and zany issues, she would surprise us all with an inspirational song, a heart-warming video, or a beautiful reflective thought of the day. Bugsey is, within herself, a paradox.

Bugsey calls me “too sensitive,” and I call her a “nutsy fruitcake.” The two of us–night and day, Yin and Yang, are the mirrors of the Bloglife.

Not too long ago, I discovered the joys of blogging. It started quite simply enough–I needed an easier way to share photos with family and friends.

My sister, Evelyn, took tons of photos when she went to the Canada and the USA for a vacation in 2006. She was to meet our cousin Ying for the very first time ever, and that really got her excited. Bitten by the shutterbug , Evelyn took tons of photos. Back in Australia, she decided to share some of her photos through Yahoo! Messenger. By “some,” I meant 200+, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Share photos? With so many photos already stored in my computer and more to come, it seemed like a daunting task. Is there an easier way?

“Join Multiply,” said Carmel.

Carmel was the most computer literate member of the family. Still is. At age 3, back in those good ole days of the gigantic floppy boot disk, she was tasked to boot the computer for older members of the family. She was also the perennial top scorer in PacMan and Dig Dug. Yes, at age THREE! So if Carmel suggests anything that is computer-related, I normally listen.

I had been using Dogster for a couple of months already, and Carmel felt I was ready to move on to “human” blog. And so I listened. This Mom is an obedient Mom. And so I started my bloglife with just that—a photo blog.

Many of the good names were taken—I think I signed up a little too late. Lacking imagination, I came up with the ridiculous handle, “sallythedoglover.” I could almost hear Carmel snicker when I gave her my Multiply ID. Just fresh out of Dogster, and there I was talking about dogs again. Hey, I love my dogs! =P
And so I started blogging about dogs and animal welfare.

My very first blog dated October 12, 2006 was about Yuki, our neighbor’s dog who met a cruel fate in the hands of dog-eaters (Eeeeewww!!). A few more dog and animal welfare blogs followed. Then there were the occasional juvenile blog quizzes that Carmel “forced” me to take, as well as some miscellaneous uncategorizable entries. To date, I have three pages worth of blogs. Not bad, considering that I do not normally post entries daily.

The wonderful thing about sites such as Multiply is that one gets to meet people on line. I consider myself very fortunate to to have made good friends online. We never grow tired of encouraging each other to develop our respective God-given talents, cheering each other on in every endeavor, laughing with each other at every amusing item posted, and offering a virtual shoulder to lean on when a friend is down.

Of late though, Multiply has gotten a bit too “busy,” and I find myself torn between talking about dogs and talking about matters that enrich the spirit. It was quite timely then that my online friend, Noel, urged me to explore what writing skills I have. To cut the long story short, he was the holder of the key to the door of the Angel’s Garden. But before I found my way back to the Angel’s Garden of my childhood, I tested the waters by posting a couple of poems on my mtsally Multiply page that I called “Poet in a Straitjacket.” It didn’t matter if my poetry sucks (I even dared to crosspost it in my other Multiply site). I still get the same loving and encouraging words, and the occasional funny replies from my online friends—Lou, Vivien, Wilma, Fr. Grevy, Nel, Noel, Val, Dave, and Rob. Donald and carpediem23, who I had the pleasure of befriending online very recently, made me smile with their positive remarks. And then, there’s the lovely and talented couple, Arwin and Maricar, who never fail to heap praises on me no matter what I post. =D

I am also delighted at the fact that some contacts and even those outside my network took the time to visit my pages even without leaving a reply. In my mind, the replies come as a bonus. After all, I do not blog for the bragging rights to the longest thread ever. Not for the traffic. Not even for accolades or the money. I am happy enough knowing that I have online friends out there who care enough to see what I have posted.

A few months back, I felt I had nothing worthwhile to blog about. But now, I find joy in sharing inspired thoughts and stories. I am inspired by the friendship that I found online. I am inspired by the angels who flew right back into my life because of the positive energy generated by my online friends—perhaps the angels were always around; I was just too busy with my mundane activities to take notice. Thank you, my Multiply friends for ushering them back into my life.

Sonnie Santos, you gave me a warm WordPress welcome when I first opened the gates of the Angel’s Garden. I have been following your blogs at Sonnie’s Porch and Solomon’s Kiosk ever since I started blogging. I’ve already told you this but I have to state it again—I am truly impressed by the contents of your blogs. You never cease to inpire people. That is a wonderful gift!

I feel truly blessed to have met so many wonderful people online. And to think that this all started with such a simple need to share photos. =) I feel the collective positive energies of my online friends, and I draw inspiration from that. As Wilma had said, It is a communion of saints online!!

Now that I have discovered the joys of blogging, I don’t think I’d ever want to stop. I may not be a writer of note. Like I said, some might even say that my writing sucks. That doesn’t bother me. I will blog, and I will not stop. Not until I grow too old and feeble. Not until my eyesight has dimmed and I lose the dexterity of my fingers.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

I have to remind myself not to gripe too much about work, whether too little or too much.

I had already downloaded the voice files that I have to transcribe for the day as early as 5:30 a.m.(I am a home-based medical transcriptionist) , and since it wasn’t too much, I decided to spend about an hour gardening. The alugbati (malabar spinach) was already crossing over to the neighbor’s backyard and needed A LOT of trimming. After gardening, kennel duty, breakfast and a long shower, I went back to my computer and rechecked my workload just to be sure I did not miss anything. Daytime nightmare! My most difficult client sent in a fresh batch of voice files while I was away! AAAARRRGHHH!!! Times like these, I feel like passing out right here at my workstation. Workloads have been erratic the past few weeks, varying from feast to famine. Either way, I would complain. But then I remembered something…

A few years back, I was an unhappy employee holding an otherwise well-paying managerial job in a company whose so-called policies I disagreed with. I decided that I had to either leave that company or make a career shift for my own wellbeing. Right about that time, I bought an inspirational book entitled The Prayer of Jabez authored by Bruce Wilkinson. No, I am not particularly religious although I am a Roman Catholic. The book just seemed interesting. After reading it twice, I decided that I will make the Prayer of Jabez my own prayer to God as I pleaded for direction, guidance, and for Him to take me to anywhere but here. And He did. He actually gave me more than what I initially asked for. And He blessed me abundantly in all aspects of my life. Looking back now, I feel ashamed for even whimpering about my workload or the lack of it.

The Prayer of Jabez is simple and beautiful. It reminds us that our God will expand our coast and bless our lives if only we would ask in earnest…and trust Him completely. So here, let me share with you The Prayer of Jabez.

1 Chronicles 4:10: “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ So God granted him that which he requested.”